How To Clear A Fridge Drain Hole

In this article, we’re going to talk through how to clear a fridge drain hole. If a leak appears inside your fridge, or water is visible at the bottom when the drawer is pulled out, this is usually a sign of a blocked drain inside the fridge and can be very easy to rectify.

Larder-style fridges have a ‘wet wall’ located at the back and you may often notice moisture forming on the back wall inside the fridge.

That moisture freezes while the fridge is cooling and then naturally defrosts back into water once the fridge has reached temperature. Under normal circumstances, this water runs down a drain hole and collects into a tray at the bottom of the appliance, close to the compressor. The heat from the compressor then usually evaporates the water inside the tray.

However, if the drain hole is blocked, the water will collect inside the fridge. As the water flows very slowly into the drain hole, there can often be a build up of waterborne black mould.

Although manufacturers often supply a small tool to help deal with this, they are generally not long enough to rectify the problem.

As the drain pipe extends out of the fridge at a 45° angle before dropping down vertically, the tool cannot often reach around the ‘corner’ created by the angle of the drain pipe.

To reach and clear the blockage, you will require something that is long and flexible enough to reach around the bend in the pipe but soft enough not to damage the lining.

A cable tie, wire coat hanger or an old-fashioned pipe cleaner can work effectively for this task. Once cleared, any moisture that forms on the back wall will then be able to run straight down the drain pipe.

I hope you have found this article helpful, however if you have followed the advice in this article and are still experiencing any issues then you can book an engineer visit quickly and easily by following the Book A Repair button on our website.